Originally Posted by
iahphx
On my upcoming trip, I'll be flying domestic flights on China Eastern (Skyteam) and Air China (Star). I hold "Elite Plus" status in Skyteam and "Gold" status in Star. As a practical matter, does this get me anything on these airlines?
You get lounge access. All of the bigger cities you're flying through have lounges... not sure about Lijiang, but I assume the airport is small enough that you can show up at T-45 and easily make your flight. It's also worth noting that some lounges are so depressing (XIY comes to mind) that you won't want to spend more than a few minutes in them.
And, you can check in at biz class counters, just like in the US.
I've never had any problems with miles posting.
Upgrades... very rarely.
Status might help on the seating front a tiny amount, but I always get good seats even when I don't reveal my FFP#.
That's really all there is to it.